CVE-2026-105401 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE • 10/08/2026
ImageMagick before 7.1.2-31 contains a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the distributed pixel cache server that allows connecting clients to overwrite heap memory by sending crafted data. Attackers can connect to the distributed pixel cache server and transmit malicious data to trigger a heap buffer over-write that crashes the server, causing denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/08/2026
ImageMagick versions prior to 7.1.2-31 contain a critical security flaw within its distributed pixel cache server component, specifically identified as a heap buffer overflow vulnerability. This issue arises from insufficient bounds checking when processing data received from connecting clients. The distributed pixel cache feature is designed to allow ImageMagick instances on different hosts to share memory resources for image processing tasks, thereby improving performance in high-throughput environments. However, the implementation fails to validate the size of incoming payloads against the allocated heap buffer limits. When a remote attacker connects to this service and transmits specially crafted data that exceeds the expected buffer capacity, it triggers an out-of-bounds write operation on the heap memory space associated with the server process.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-120, which classifies buffer copies without checking size limits as a classic source of software weaknesses leading to memory corruption. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can overwrite adjacent memory structures that are critical for the stability and control flow of the ImageMagick process. While immediate exploitation may primarily result in a segmentation fault or application crash due to memory protection mechanisms intervening during the illegal write operation, such heap overflows often serve as precursors to more severe attacks if specific memory layout conditions are met. The primary observable impact is a denial of service condition where the pixel cache server becomes unresponsive or terminates unexpectedly, disrupting any dependent image processing workflows that rely on this distributed resource sharing mechanism.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks in environments where ImageMagick is configured to expose its distributed pixel cache over network interfaces for cross-host collaboration. If the service is bound to a public-facing interface without adequate access controls or input validation layers, it becomes directly exploitable by unauthenticated remote attackers. Even if restricted to internal networks, lateral movement within a compromised segment could allow malicious actors to destabilize critical image processing infrastructure. The vulnerability maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1498, Network Denial of Service, as the immediate consequence is the disruption of service availability rather than direct data exfiltration or system compromise in its basic form. However, advanced exploitation techniques leveraging heap grooming could potentially elevate this into a remote code execution scenario, although such complexity depends heavily on the specific memory allocator and environment configuration.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must immediately upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-31 or later, where the bounds checking logic in the distributed pixel cache server has been corrected to prevent out-of-bounds writes. For systems that cannot be patched instantly due to dependency constraints, it is imperative to restrict network access to the pixel cache port using firewall rules or security groups, ensuring only trusted internal hosts can connect. Additionally, disabling the distributed pixel cache feature entirely if not required for specific workloads reduces the attack surface significantly. Security teams should also monitor logs for unusual connection patterns or repeated crashes associated with image processing services and consider deploying web application firewalls that inspect incoming data sizes against expected limits to block malformed requests before they reach the vulnerable component.